On Monday, September 26, 2022, Tsinghua University Vanke School of Public Health (VSPH) announced a new global research network to advance the use of the scientific knowledge and evidence-informed interventions of public health to create development impact in developing countries – the Bringing Research to Impact for Global Health at Tsinghua Network, also known as BRIGHT Network. Fifty members of Tsinghua’s International Master of Public Health (IMPH) alumni group located in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, together with VSPH faculty and researchers attended the virtual launch event. Principal Investigator of BRIGHT Network Feng Cheng hosted the launch event.

The event commenced with Vice Dean of VSPH Kaibo Wang, who highlighted VSPH’s strategic priorities and commitment to collaborating with international research community in responding to the global health shocks driven by COVID-19, climate change, and the current global food security crisis. Wang conveyed a vision of what BRIGHT Network members and VSPH can achieve together in partnership.

Gonzalo Jara, Aliaa Ahmed, Pan Myat Mon, and Daney Hour, representatives of IMPH alumni as well as the inaugural cohort of the BRIGHT Network, shared their experiences when attending the IMPH program at Tsinghua and what have been achieved in their public health career journey. They reflected on the process of returning to their home countries, and expressed their expectations of collaborating with Tsinghua mentors and other network member to address the most pressing public health threats.

Feng Cheng, as the key mentor working on the IMPH program, together with other VSPH faculty members, Kun Tang, Zhihui Li, and Ai Zhao, shared their fresh memories of the days with IMPH students on campus, and called upon the network members to collaborate and generate new and innovative solutions for global health challenges. They also highlighted the importance of exploring the mechanism of working with IMPH alumni in developing countries, such as responding to “One Belt and One Road” Initiative.

BRIGHT Network Coordinator Li Zhong presented an overview of BRIGHT Network, and highlighted that the network will be initially built up on the collaborative partnerships between Tsinghua and over 130 Tsinghua IMPH alumni, and later will expand member recruitment to non-IMPH alumni and organizations. Through initiating network-wide research grants, building up capacity of network members, and expanding collaboration and communication with international research community, BRIGHT Network will ultimately become a technical assistance base for providing China’s international collaborations in the health sector with strategic choices and evidence-based programming decisions.